Jewelry is once again being repaired and made inside Swensen's Rings and Things store in downtown Port Orchard. Steve Zugschwerdt | Special to the Sun

Steve Zugschwerdt

Rudy Swensen works with a customer over a countertop made from a slab of marble. Steve Zugschwerdt | Special to the Sun

Steve Zugschwerdt

After an extensive remodel, three years in the making, Swensen's Rings and Things store in Port Orchard in now open for business. Steve Zugschwerdt | Special to the Sun

Steve Zugschwerdt

The extensive remodel of the Bay Street building owned by Rudy and Jeannie Swensen includes features like metal ceiling tiles, geodes and fossilized marble slabs. Steve Zugschwerdt | Special to the Sun

Steve Zugschwerdt

PORT ORCHARD - Port Orchard is known for its annual seagull calling festival, its waterfront park and stores full of collectibles.

In the foyer of his newly remodeled store on Bay Street, Swenson last week showed off a giant geode, its glittering maw full of purple crystals. The 475-pound rock will be the centerpiece of a floor-to-ceiling indoor fountain, set about with live plants, more cool rocks and fiber-optic lighting.

Countertops around the store are made with fossilized rock slabs from the Sahara desert, and a large slab on the wall shows sea creatures millions of years old, frozen in time.

Swenson and his wife, Jeannie, have sunk $250,000 into the renovation, hoping to create a destination, along with a spiffed up venue for their business. More than that, they're hoping to start a trend.

The outside of the store has been transformed in New Orleans style, with brick, wrought iron and a balcony hung with flower baskets. The balcony replaces the town's marquee, which Swenson got permission to remove. The retro theme continues inside, with a stenciled concrete floor and a 1920s-style stamped metal ceiling.

Swenson, who was born in New Orleans, thought the theme was appropriate, given the waterfront connection ... and the flooding.

The Swensons, who bought the building in 1991, had long planned some kind of major upgrade for the building, constructed in 1903. Record rains in late 2007 left much of Bay Street, including Rings & Things, under a couple of feet of water or more.

"The flood kind of expedited things," Swenson said.

The couple had other obstacles to overcome. Part of their delay in starting construction resulted from the city's update to its downtown development standards. City officials' debate of the Downtown Overlay District plan dragged on, with potential developers like Swenson anxiously waiting in the wings. The DOD was approved in late 2007, calling for "amenities," like Swenson's balcony, facade and fountain, that would enhance downtown's cachet.

Then came the Great Recession.

The Swensons persisted, however, and took advantage of a low-bid market.

The city council's final approval of their plan also hit a snag, when the city attorney needed more time to research right-of-way issues. A compromise was reached, and the Swensons began gutting the place in early 2010. They relocated across the street for the duration, but were able to move back into their building May 10. A public grand opening is planned for July 12.

"He's done a great job of remodeling the front. He's done a great job of remodeling the inside," said Darryl Baldwin, owner of MoonDogs Too, next door. "I think he's done a great job of pulling it off."

"I really admire Rudy for stepping up in this economy and doing what he's done," said Port Orchard Mayor Lary Coppola. "We're hoping it will be the catalyst that will jump-start some other projects downtown, and people will see the economy doesn't have to be a barrier."

Mansour Samadpour, the Seattle microbiologist who owns nearly a half-dozen downtown properties, had no comment. Swenson said he had spoken with Samadpour, however.

"He told me I was five years too early," Swenson said. "I told him I didn't think I had five years to waste."